Schaffhausen, Motorway entrance: Main lane forks – left towards Stuttgart/Singen (D), right towards Zurich/Winterthur. Whichever direction you go, we notice that almost no one here, except us, blinks. Correctly?
We present Willi Wismer, former BLICK driving instructor expert and President of the Zurich Driving Instructors Association. First, it refers to Article 39 of the Highway Traffic Act, which states that “the driver must announce all changes of direction, including a right turn.”
But in this case, are we really turning right on the way to Zurich/Winterthur? The arrow drawn on the road points straight ahead. “After Zurich/Winterthur, it would be right that there are no more flashes than Stuttgart/Singen,” Wismer explains. But: “I think flasher should be used in both cases to ensure clear understanding.”
TCS dare not say anything
Now we want to know exactly and ask TCS and the Federal Highway Office (Astra): It takes almost a week for TCS to get the answer. He says you cannot officially take a position because the situation is not clear. Aha. Even with Astra, traffic experts need to clarify this first. But then we quickly get the answer – and Astra comes to the same conclusion as Wismer’s driving instructor: “Every time you change direction, you have to turn on the signal. That’s why anyone wanting to go left to Stuttgart should blink here.”
BLACK result: in this case it will flash correctly on the left choosing the left lane. We think it’s better to have more than one time too few – we signal both a left and a right turn. There is only one thing that is absolutely wrong here: never blink when driving left. But, unfortunately, this situation is the most common.